How to Get People to Read Your Emails Faster

Ah email. The pre-Twitter/Facebook social media. Chances are good that your organization sends out informational, opt-in emails about their projects. If you’re in the NEPA/urban planning world, check out the February newsletter for the More for 1604 project. Or check out the award winning, non-profit email campaign by the Word Wildlife Foundation Deutschland.

Even if you’re not involved with sending out project or organization emails, I bet you wish you could get other people to read and reply to your emails sooner. Below are awesome take aways from HubSpot’s “The Science of Email Marketing Presentation” that you can use to get people to read your emails faster. The data used in this presentation was from MailChimp and from a survey conducted by the presenter, Dan Zarrella. Scroll down to see the presentation.

How Many Emails Are Too Many Emails?

But emails sent out 3,4 or 5x a month have the same click rate as emails sent once a day (around 4%)

You’ll get the most unsubscribes if you send out only once a month.

You’ll get fewer unsubscribes if you send out more often.

Take Away: Don’t be afraid to send more good email

Expectations

If you send regularly, people expect your emails. Your emails become part of their routine.

Unsubscribe rate are highest when people first sign up for your email list.

Newest subscribers are your best clickers.

As your email subscribers get older, they tend to click less.

Take Away: Send newest subscribers more emails.

How much email do people really read?

Over 50% people say they read most or all of their email. WOW! “Email is not dead.” This is a myth. Mainstream users read their emails. People hate seeing unread emails

Majority of people will not forward, tweet or share your emails.

Take Away: Ask people to follow you on Twitter or Friend you on Facebook, not to share your emails.

I’m going to apply several of these ideas to Cubit’s organizational emails. I want to make sure our newsletter design is mobile friendly. I’m going to test sending an email on Saturday and change our social share buttons to social liking buttons. What? You aren’t signed up yet for Cubit’s email newsletter? This newsletter has been called “dynamic”, “informative” and “fun.” You should sign up now.